


#SQUAD

by vanibella



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Pack Cuddles, Rants, everybody comforts Moryo, this is basically a rant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-04 16:20:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5340560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanibella/pseuds/vanibella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cuddles, pizza, and rants. Typical Feanorian Friday nights. Oh, and chocolate. </p><p>(As usual, I'm too cheesy for my own good.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	#SQUAD

**Author's Note:**

> I'm writing this story assuming that you guys know every Feanorian's nicknames. So if you haven't familiarized yourself yet with them, please do. Apologies too for ruining a certain character, I was running out of people. Moryo curses a lot. based on this post on my tumblr: http://vanillacinnamonstuff.tumblr.com/post/133324224243/excuse-me-but-have-you-guys-ever-considered

“Over, under, over, under…” Amras muttered under his breath as he wove his twin’s hair into a fishtail plait. His fingers moved in a monotonous and uniform fashion, as if he were under a trance. It seemed effortless, the way the lush strands would take shape into a rope, but it had taken plenty of practice and endless focus to get the skill right. A normal braid was easy, but a fishtail one required a particular dexterity of one’s digits and the ability to keep track of where each new and consecutive lock would go. Fortunately, Maglor had been patient enough to teach him how, and soon it was a hobby of sorts, a calming activity to keep troubling thoughts at bay.

“Ow, you’re pulling a bit too hard right there.”

“Sorry.” Amras immediately raised a hand to massage the sore spot, and then continued to pleat.

“I know this is therapeutic for you, but this is the third time that you’ve re-done my hair.” A pause. “We might not actually have to buy that hair curler after all.”

“Don’t be so sure of yourself. I might as well shift to knitting, like Moryo.”

A comfortable silence settled between them as Amrod typed away on his laptop. _Roman Holiday_ was playing on the flat screen, and out of the corner of his eye, Amras could just see bits and pieces of Audrey Hepburn climbing into a truck and disappearing into the night.

“Do you remember that one time Neyo did a show in Rome for Uncle Nolo?”

“Uh huh. Why?” Amrod turned to face him over his shoulder, a wistful look on his twin’s face as he watched Audrey wave to the passersby on the streets of Italy.

“I wanna go back there. If it was just as good of a vacation for Audrey, then it’s good enough for me.”

“Well… would pancetta be good enough for you?”

“So long as you don’t burn it.”

“Tomorrow morning?”

“You’re not going to hit snooze?”

“Nope. It’s a done deal, then?”

“I’m so glad I have you for a twin.”

“I try.”

Maedhros and Maglor then burst into the room, arms full of pillows and comforters. A Hello Kitty plush fell to the floor, and Amras slid off the bed to pick it up. A momentary pause in his handiwork gave Amrod the chance to finally slip fingers through his hair, working out the kinks.

Maedhros neatly set down his pile onto the bed, but Maglor merely dropped his onto the futon laid out on the floor. “Did Tyelko order the pizza already?” Amras handed back the plush to Maedhros, booping him on the arm.

“I think so, yeah.”

“Who’s paying?”

"I- you lost the bet."

"What? No, I'm broke, because you used up all my money to buy five tacos."

"I had a recital that morning! I was hungry!"

"You couldn't have used your own instead?"

"I'm broke too! And besides, I know you still have a couple hundred bucks- how else did we pay for the taxi this morning?"

"Why do you keep insisting on using my money?"

"Because you're the eldest, and you're supposed to take care of us." Amras piped up, a smirk working its way to his lips. Maedhros was about to retort and hit him with the Hello Kitty plush, but he was interrupted by the buzz of the intercom. Maglor leaped over the pillows to answer it. Even from the bed, Amrod could hear his brother asking for the payment.

Maglor covered the receiver with his palm and turned to Maedhros. "Your money."

"I'm not going to win this argument anytime soon, am I?"

"Nope!", chirped three voices in unison.

With a resigned sigh, Nelyo took out his wallet and pressed the bills into Kano's waiting hand. "Leeches," he muttered.

"I love you too." Kano tweaked his nose, and then proceeded out of the room to hand Tyelko the money downstairs.

 

\--

 

Caranthir got home late that night, no small thanks to traffic and their new driver who insisted on missing out every shortcut, opting instead to take the highway. Jesus fuck.

They arrived just as a red motorcycle sped out of the compound, the streetlights illuminating the hotline painted on its side. Oh yeah. Friday night was date night, which meant movie night for him and his brothers. He turned to nudge Curvo, whose head was tilted back at an unnatural angle as he slept. His mouth was hanging open, and Caranthir had taken measures to make sure that he had  no shortage of the photos he snapped earlier on the trip home.

"Are we home yet?" Curvo shook awake, yawning and stretching his arms, rubbing the crick in his neck before he dropped back down on Caranthir's shoulder and groaned.

"Yep. Don't forget your laptop bag." He and Curvo had stayed behind at school for an activity, their brothers having taken the 4:00 trip home. After rounding several more bends, they finally stopped in front of their townhouse. Sleepily grabbing his belongings, Curvo got down from the bus first, wincing as the light from their garage hit his eyes. It was pretty dark out on the streets, the sky having quickly turned an inky black from the reds and mauves of the sunset, like a candle flame being snuffed out. It was actually very pretty; he fell asleep watching the sky change colors.

"Moryo! Curvo! You're home! Exactly the people who I was looking for to help me carry all these boxes of pizza upstairs." Celegorm unlocked the screen door and held it open.

"Thanks. Nice to see you too, Tyelko." Twin looks of relief crossed the two students' faces as they entered the house, immediately dropping their heavy bags onto the living room floor. Celegorm locked the screen door before closing the main door and hurrying back to the kitchen counter. Huan, their gold shih tzu, excitedly ran over to greet the two, jumping and wagging his tail, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted from the exertion. Curvo picked him up, and the princess-type dog licked his face, squirming as he tried to sniff about his master's person.

"Hi Huan." Moryo allowed himself a small smile, fondly ruffling the dog on the head. Now that he was home, the exhaustion was starting to creep up on him, and the day's events were starting  to play anew in his mind. With exhaustion came frustration and anger, and his face contorted in mild annoyance as the amusement of petting the dog wore off. Tyelko, a master at reading his brother's feelings, called over for Curvo to grab the pizza boxes. Curvo put down the dog and quickly complied, giving Celegorm the window he needed to get to Moryo before he made his way up the staircase.

"Go shower. And then rant to us later. Okay?" He held the other by the wrist, offering a reassuring smile as he rubbed over the pulse point in a calming manner.

Moryo nodded and Tyelko let go, a tired but grateful expression on his face as he went up.

"Can we open the Lindt chocolates? It's been in the cabinet since forever." Celegorm dropped down the first two marble steps and walked back to the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure. Hey, did you wash your hands? You held Huan and kissed him."

"The only person here who does all the dog kissing is you, loser."

"As if you don't French kiss him behind my back." He then knelt down in front of Huan, and in an overzealous fashion, held his hand over his heart and cried out, "Woe is me, for my lover loves another!"

Huan stared at him. Uninterested, he flopped down on the kitchen floor.

"Nice, even the dog's impressed. You'd do Shakespeare proud."

Tyelko sighed and stood back up. "Thanks, Huan. You guys just don't know real drama, do you?"

"Like you would know?"

"Are you gonna open the chocolate or not? Because if we're just going to stand here arguing for the rest of the night-"

"Alright, alright, jeez."

Curvo turned over the box in his hands, inspecting it for any protruding pull-away tabs. Eventually, his fingers found what they were looking for and they tore away the plastic wrap. He then set the box back down on the counter and lifted off the lid, followed by two more layers of paper and film before revealing a gold plastic tray inlaid with various types of chocolate. It was like looking at one of those incredibly intricate necklaces-

"Ugh, jewelry porn. You've got that look on your face again." Tyelko's voice cut through his thoughts, and he shot his brother a glare. "Oh look, they've got pistachio!"

Curvo snatched up the small leaflet listing down each praline’s flavor, and quickly scanning the paper, took the pistachio from the tray before Celegorm could take it.

"Oh my god, did you just-"

Curvo smiled as he chewed.

"You little shit. That was the only one."

"You can kiss me, if you like."

"Maybe I will."

In retaliation, Celegorm took out the two hazelnuts. Curvo's eyes slightly widened, but that didn't stop him from simultaneously chewing and staring down his brother. It was a sight to behold, the two munching with chipmunk cheeks and exaggeratedly squinting at one another.

Maglor's annoyed voice broke the stare-off. "What the hell are you two still doing down here? The pizza's going to get cold! Bring it up, or so help me, I will make Nelyo start without you."

Maglor turned to go back up the stairs, but thought better of it. "Oh, and while you're at it, get the popcorn ready."

 

\--

 

"So what are we watching tonight?" Maedhros asked as he sifted through the haphazard pile of Blu-ray movies sitting on the computer table. Maglor bounded over to his side to hold the discarded choices, juggling the cases in one hand and eating a slice of pizza with the other.

"I thought we were finally going to have that Marvel marathon!" Amras insisted from the bed, and gave Maedhros his best stink-eye lest he object. He and his twin were ensconced in a makeshift nest of pillows and plush toys, and were dressed in matching unicorn onesies, so it was kind of hard to take him seriously.

"Not in that outfit." Curufin smirked, playfully chucking a piece of popcorn at his brother. Amrod swiped at him with a pillow. He missed, and the pillow fell to the futon, leaving Tyelko to rush over and pick it up before Huan could do collateral damage.

"Exactly my thoughts," Maedhros muttered as he turned back to choosing a movie.

"Me-owww. But you swore, Nelyo. Besides, do you really want to disappoint me?"

"I don't recall promising you, Kano."

"Doesn't matter. I can be _very_ persuasive."

"If you're thinking about batting your eyelashes at me, then it's not going to work. My answer is still _no."_

"If I blow you later, will you say yes?"

"Kano!"

"Upping the stakes, then. I'll buy you ten tacos, and then -"

Maedhros raised a hand to stop his tirade, then sighed in exasperation to face his brother, momentarily dropping the search for the perfect movie. But instead of berating him, all he could manage was a fond laugh.

"I appreciate the offer, Kano, but-", he leaned down to whisper the rest of his answer into his brother's ears, face alight in amusement.

Nelyo pulled away after a minute. Kano's face was slightly red. Curvo couldn't tell if it was either from anger, embarrassment, or arousal.

"Think about it. How low are you willing to go?"

Curvo, who was watching the exchange from the floor, snarled, "If I hear noises coming from the bathroom later tonight, I swear to God I will kill the both of you."

"Relax, it won’t be them. It'll be us." Tyelko said, plopping down behind him and then making room for his brother in the space between his legs. Once Curvo was securely bracketed, he pressed a kiss to the back of his brother's ear and dropped Huan into the younger's lap. The shih tzu made a grab for the popcorn bowl.

"Hey!"

"So what are we going to watch, if it's not Marvel?"

"Is anyone up for 'Bridesmaids'?"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Because we already watched it last week!"

"So?"

"Can we watch 'Frozen'?"

" **NO!** Nelyo, don't let Kano pick!"

Any further counter-arguments were put on hold when the bathroom door suddenly clicked open and Caranthir walked out in a cloud of warm air that smelled faintly of Krispy Kreme donuts. It was the shea butter body wash, and the only reason why the others hated using it was because Nelyo insisted on biting them all as if they were actual donuts.

Caranthir's hair was wet and half-undone from its ponytail, which meant he probably spent too long under the water thinking. Wincing as he pulled it out, Moryo let loose the ebony tresses to their default state of messiness. Secretly, Maglor envied his brothers' hair- they all had the same distinct wavy texture, always in that perfect state of undone-ness that would rival Kate Moss's. Of the seven of them, only he and Curvo had inherited their father's pin-straight dark hair.

"God, she-"

"Okay, wait!" Tyelko waved his arms like an air traffic controller, narrowly missing Curvo by a millimeter. He stood up and shoved a praline into Moryo's mouth. "Before you rant, Moryo, eat some chocolate. Whoever she is, she must be a total bitch."

Moryo looked stunned. Maglor reached over to take his laundry and put it out in the hamper outside. When he came back, Moryo was seated on the edge of the bed.

"Where do I even start?"

"Just start."

Kano took his place next to where Nelyo was snuggled on the bed with the twins and the rest braced themselves. Moryo took a deep breath.

"Okay, so you know this one classmate of mine who’s friends with Ulfang?”

“Which one? You have 20 classmates.”

“Tyelko.”

“Okay, sorry, continue. Just trying to lighten up the mood.”

“You all know Telchar, right?”

Maglor briefly recounted an event of Moryo ranting to them about some girl being elected to represent the class at a speech contest, but had run off the stage after a few verses in a terrible fit of stage fright.

“So lately she left Ulfang and knowing Ulfang, the back-stabbing, irresponsible, spoiled brat that she is, Telchar is afraid of being hunted down by her, so now she's going with Haleth's group! I mean, Haleth and I are okay now, like really okay, don't give me that look, Curvo- but you know how I'm not exactly a part of her squad, right? I'm good friends with them, but.. they're just not my kind of people, you know? They're all into Korean dramas and Eastern pop culture, and I’m leaning more towards Western culture, so yeah. And the thing is, it's like I'm being pushed out.” Moryo slumped down on the computer chair.

“Frankly, I was never really part of the group, but when it comes to group projects and paiworks, I was always the 4th person they reached for. And you know, 4 is such a convenient number, because for every goddamn class activity, they're evenly split in the middle, and there's no room left for someone else!”

Maglor noted the escalating tone of anger and frustration in his brother’s voice, and how much it spoke volumes. How long had Moryo been keeping this bottled up?

“And it's annoying and it hurts because a while ago during lunch they were joking about something, and Telchar suddenly said "I feel uncomfortable". One of them had cracked a joke and she didn't get it and I so desperately wanted to shout at her that-” Moryo paused as his face burned with fury. Eyebrows furrowed and eyes glazing over in anger, he began pacing the room, shouting and gesturing articulately his hate and disgust for Telchar.

"Hey, bitch! You think you feel uncomfortable? I'm sitting right behind you guys and I can hear every word and yet I can't do anything about it because I'll look like an intruder; you think you're UNCOMFORTABLE? How do you think I feel, you ASSHOLE?!”

Huan whimpered and ran under the bed as Caranthir aimlessly threw a pillow at the drawers.

“And, rememeber when Haleth and I were still fighting and they told her about my flaws? God, I hate how she has leverage over me and I have none over her! I hate how she knows my innermost flaw and I don't know hers! And as much as I would like to ruin her, I can't, because she's untouchable! One jab, and she'll crack. God, it's nauseating.

“We once had this group activity in personal development, and Ulfang was in a corner whispering and looking at her, and seeing them, she believed- BELIEVED- that they were TALKING about her! What is that?! You don't even know for real if they were, you bitch! And guess what she did next, huh? Guess?

“She-“

“Don't answer, Tyelko. She FUCKING went into hysterics- she started hyperventilating and crying and shit. Jesus, bitch. So much people whisper and spread rumors about me on a daily basis, they've even called me a fire-breathing dragon, but do I break? Do you see me crying?! No, because I fucking suck it up and take it because that's life, there will always be people who will talk about you behind your back! And there's nothing you can do about it!

“Oh, oh, let's not forget about the whole "I would rather be friends with you than her" shit, because that sounds like a fucking insult, you cunt! Either way, you wouldn't be friends with me! It's like a "who would you rather be on an island with" situation, me or her? I just wanna fucking punch her in the face and murder her!

“She's also always going on and on about how there is so much 'drama' in her life, about how 'hard' it is-”

Tyelko almost laughed when Moryo enunciated the word ‘drama’ in a sugary sweet voice: his falsetto was comical, but he didn’t dare laugh otherwise.  

“-you think YOUR LIFE IS HARD?! I've been bullied ever since I was a kid, and I'll say that my self-esteem is worse for wear; I have been left out for the last 4 years by people who claim to be ‘second family’, everyday I am always ALONE- and as for family drama?”

Moryo hit the computer table with a loud slap, jolting everyone. “My dad has FUCKING issues with his dad and step-family, not to mention that I have 6 FUCKING brothers-“ he turned to look at them “-no offense.”

“None taken.” Nelyo quipped.

“You think that I don't have as much family drama as you do? God, she pisses me off so much! Because she is such a goddamn crybaby, at this point, I don't give a FLYING FUCK if she has issues, that's no excuse to run off a stage and give up on the second chance to try again!

“I don't fucking cry, I don't fucking go into shivers. I have spent far too much time and effort, been hurt far more times just to be her best friend, and you're just going to come in here and take everything away from me in matter of what, 2, 3 weeks? How dare you? HOW DARE YOU?!

“I am not a back up, or a spare tire, and yet I am. And for Christs sake, stop fucking copying everything that I do. Fuck you bitch, and I hope you go die in hell.”

Silence descended upon the room as Carnistir paused to catch his breath. Just as Nelyo was about to put his two cents in, Carnistir began again.

“And you know what? You wouldn't talk about a party you're invited to in front of someone who isn't invited, more so if the person invited is a close friend of the host. Because, courtesy, bitch! You wouldn't talk about a party in front of someone who was uninvited, that's just awkward and rude! And if you were really my best friend, then you would wait out with me, and keep hoping with me until I'm at least allowed to go out with my friends.

“It's like I'm invisible- we were doing an activity in research class and I, of course, was alone. It was me all long, of course- 21 in the class, teacher suspected that the odd one out would be someone who couldn't handle it himself, asked for an honor student to volunteer- I did so, because I knew it would be me. And they looked _so_ relieved.”

He discreetly turned away to wipe a tear.

“And yesterday, I was seated next to them because our research topics were similar, and since my laptop was lowbat-”

“Sorry. I forgot to charge it.”

“It's okay. Teacher suggested that I use the library computer instead, and when I moved out, boy!  Haleth sure was enthusiastic to have them over beside her. Well, whatever. Somehow, by some weird stroke of luck or what, I always finish better than her in projects, pair work or not. Hopefully, my ass won't run out of luck before the quarter ends.”

Moryo flopped down on the futon, and rolled over to hug a body pillow.

“I just wanna get out and go to college. I honestly believe that I'll have a better time in college than here. I'm dying to get out of this hell house. I'm so tired and shit.”

Moryo threw an arm over his eyes, and sucked in a shuddering breath. Tyelko crawled over to pull away his arm and place a kiss on his forehead.

“Hey, don’t cry. I hate seeing you guys cry, you know. Makes me feel irresponsible.”

“More so than usual?”

“Shut up, Curvo.”

“The thing is, I think you need to reach out.” Nelyo started, shuffling over to the TV stand to fiddle with the player.

“What?”

“Hear me out.” He put in ‘Bridesmaids’ and faced him.

“Maybe Haleth and her friends feel that you're distancing yourself from them, that you're aloof with them, and maybe that's why they're avoiding you too, because they think that you don't like them. But if the friendship is really worth it, then I would make it a point to get him or her back on my side, you know?”

Kano swung his legs over the bed’s footboard to join his brother.

“Also, do you really want to go to a party with them? You said so yourself, they like the stuff that you don't like. Do you really want to spend an entire day talking about Korean dramas?”

“Hell no. Not while I live.” Realization dawned on him and the apprehension on his face ebbed away.

“Exactly.” Kano grabbed the remote control from Nelyo.

“Besides, at this age, most people your age only think about having fun in their heads when it comes to planning a party and going out, courtesy is the last thing that you should expect. But you, Moryo, you've always been too mature for your age. Didn't Nelyo and I tell you that you'd get along better with adults and older people?”

“I guess so.” Moryo managed a small smile at that, sitting back up and scooting backwards to rest his back against Tyelko’s chest.

“Okay?” Kano returned the smile, then turned to Nelyo. “The volume control is this one, you idiot.”

“This thing has so many frickin’ buttons, it’s hard to deduce which one!”

“It’s a shame that you’re the eldest.”

“Fine, be that way, I won’t-”

“And finally, I think you need to tell Haleth this. It’s not fair to her that you’re withholding all this important information; you guys have to be honest with one another. You’ve got to work this out together, because if this friendship is really worth saving, then you have to fight for it.” Tyelko cut in, momentarily drowning out their elder brothers’ bickering.

“But-”

“Telchar needs that group more than you do. It seems that she's really afraid of being alone. And you, you're used to that. You’re used to this kind of treatment, what’s one more year to you? You’re strong Moryo, and resilient. That girl could probably never handle the amount of shit that you’ve been through.”

“You’re right, she wouldn’t. Thanks, Curvo.”

“Mm.” The twins jumped down from the bed to perch on either side of Moryo.

“Besides, I hope you haven’t forgotten about the squad that you already have.”

“And that would be us. You already have 6 best friends, remember?” Moryo allowed himself another smile, a genuine one at that.

“I feel like a dam has been broken, as if this huge weight has been lifted off of my chest and I-thank God I have you guys. I didn't see it from that perspective before. Thank god.”

“As usual, you worry too much.” Tyelko kissed him again on the corner of his mouth.

“No, I do-”

“Don't worry, okay? You have us. Don't worry about not having your own squad or being alone; our first and foremost group of friends in this life are each other.”

Moryo laughed and then choked up. Amrod and Amras smiled at one another over their brother’s shoulders.

“Cuddle pile?’

“No.”

“Yes!”

 

\--

 

“Thank you mom and dad for giving me 6 best friends #squad #blessed #loveyouall” was Caranthir’s most liked post on Instagram later that week.


End file.
